Auriga - definition of Auriga by The Free Dictionary Auriga - definition of Auriga by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Thesaurus , Encyclopedia , Wikipedia . Au·ri·ga (ô-rī′gə) n. A constellation in the Northern Hemisphere near Lynx and Perseus that contains the bright star Capella, which is 42 light years from Earth. Also called Charioteer. [Latin aurīga, charioteer, Auriga; see ōs- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] Auriga (ɔːˈraɪɡə) n, Latin genitive Aurigae (ɔːˈraɪdʒiː) (Astronomy) a conspicuous constellation in the N hemisphere between the Great Bear and Orion, at the edge of the Milky Way. It contains the first magnitude star Capella and the supergiant eclipsing binary star Epsilon Aurigae [Latin: charioteer] Auriga Constellation: Facts, Myth, Star Map, Major Stars, Deep Sky Objects | Constellation Guide Constellation Guide Constellations: A Guide to the Night Sky Auriga Constellation Auriga constellation lies in the northern hemisphere.

Its name means “the charioteer” in Latin. The constellation got this name because its major stars form a shape similar to that of the pointed helmet of a charioteer. Auriga was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It contains Capella , the sixth brightest star in the sky. The constellation is also the site of the galactic anti-centre, the point in the sky opposite to the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy, which is located in the constellation Sagittarius , near the border with Scorpius . The nearest bright star to the galactic anti-centre is Alnath, Beta Tauri. Auriga contains a number of interesting deep sky objects, including the open star clusters Messier 36 , Messier 37 , and Messier 38 and the emission/reflection nebula IC 405 (the Flaming Star Nebula ). FACTS, LOCATION & MAP Auriga is the 21st biggest constellation in the night sky, occupying 657 square degrees.

It is located in the first quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ1) and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -40°. The neighboring constellations are Camelopardalis , Gemini , Lynx , Perseus , and Taurus . Auriga contains three Messier objects – M36 (NGC 1960), M37 (NGC 2099), and M38 (NGC 1912) – and has eight stars with known planets. The brightest star in the constellation is Capella , Alpha Aurigae, which is also the sixth brightest star in the sky. There are two meteor showers associated with Auriga: the Alpha Aurigids and the Delta Aurigids. Auriga belongs to the Perseus family of constellations, together with Andromeda , Cassiopeia , Cepheus , Cetus , Lacerta , Pegasus , Perseus , and Triangulum .

Auriga Constellation Map, by IAU and Sky&Telescope magazine MYTH Auriga is usually depicted as a charioteer, holding the reins of a chariot with his right hand and carrying a goat and its two young on his left arm. Even though the image of the charioteer appears in Johann Bode’s Uranographia (1801), none of the stories Auriga is usually associated with have a goat in them. In mythology, Auriga is most frequently identified with Erichthonius, king of Athens and son of the fire god Hephaestus. Erichthonius was raised by the goddess Athena, who taught him many skills he wouldn’t have ordinarily learned. He was the first man to tame and harness four horses to a chariot, imitating the chariot of the Sun god. Zeus was impressed and later placed Erichthonius among the stars. Erichthonius is usually credited for the invention of the four-horse chariot, the quadriga. In another myth, Auriga represents Hephaestus himself, the lame god, who built the chariot so that he could travel anywhere he wanted, whenever he wanted, without difficulty.

In another popular myth, the charioteer is Myrtilus, son of Hermes, who served King Oenomaus of Pisa. Oenomaus had a beautiful daughter, Hippodamia, and was determined not to give her hand away to any of her suitors. He would challenge each of them to a chariot race. If he caught up with them before they arrived to Corinth, he would kill them. With Myrtilus driving the king’s chariot, none of Hippodamia’s suitors survived the race until Pelops, son of Tantalus, came to ask the king for his daughter’s hand. Hippodamia fell in love with Pelops at first sight and asked Myrtilus to let him win. The charioteer, who was himself in love with the king’s daughter, obeyed and tampered with the chariot’s wheels. During the race, the wheels fell off and King Oenomaus was thrown off the chariot and killed. Once Pelops had won the race, he cast his rival Myrtilus into the sea. Betrayed, Myrtilus cursed the house of Pelops before he drowned.

It was Myrtilus’ father Hermes who placed his son’s image among the stars. The star Capella , Alpha Aurigae, is associated with Amalthea, the goat who was foster-mother to Zeus. The name Capella is Roman and means “she-goat.” The star is located on the Charioteer’s left shoulder. MAJOR STARS IN AURIGA Capella – α Aurigae (Alpha Aurigae) Capella , Alpha Aurigae, is the brightest star in Auriga and the sixth brightest star in the sky. It is only 42.2 light years distant. The only two stars in the northern hemisphere that are brighter than Capella are Vega (Alpha Lyrae) in Lyra constellation and Arcturus (Alpha Boötis) in Boötes . Capella is a known source of X-rays. It is the closest first magnitude star to the north celestial pole. Capella consists of two binary pairs of stars; a pair of large, bright G-type giants in close orbit (about 100 million km) and a pair of small, cool red dwarfs, located about 10,000 AU from the first pair.

The Capella system belongs to the Hyades moving group, a large group of stars that share a similar trajectory with the Hyades cluster , an open star cluster in the constellation Taurus . Capella marks the Charioteer’s left shoulder or the goat he is carrying. It represents Amalthea, the goat that suckled Zeus. Menkalinan – β Aurigae (Beta Aurigae) Menkalinan, Beta Aurigae, is a triple star system, 85 light years distant. The brightest two components are white A-type subgiant stars and the third star is a red dwarf. The two brighter stars in the system constitute an eclipsing spectroscopic binary with a magnitude varying between 1.85 and 1.93. Beta Aurigae is a stream member of the Ursa Major Moving Group (Collinder 285), a group of stars (that includes most of the bright stars in Ursa Major constellation ) believed to have a common origin that share common velocities in space.

The star’s traditional name, Menkalinan, comes from the Arabic phrase mankib ðī-l-‘inān which means “shoulder of the rein-holder.” Mahasim – θ Aurigae (Theta Aurigae) Theta Aurigae is a double star about 173 light years from Earth. The primary component is an Alpha-2 Canum Venaticorum type variable, a chemically peculiar star with a strong magnetic field and strong strontium, silicon, or chromium spectral lines. Theta Aurigae has a mean apparent magnitude of 2.65. The star’s traditional name, Mahasim, comes from the Arabic word for “wrist.” It is also sometimes called Bogardus. The brighter component in the system is a white A-type main sequence dwarf and the companion star is a yellow G-type main sequence dwarf. Theta Aurigae A has the apparent magnitude of 2.7 and Theta Aurigae B, 7.2. The binary star has an 11th magnitude optical companion 49 arcseconds away.

Kabdhilinan (Hassaleh) – ι Aurigae (Iota Aurigae) Iota Aurigae is known by several traditional names. Kabdhilinan (or Al Kab for short) comes from the Arabic phrase for “the ankle of the rein holder.” The star is also commonly referred to as Hassaleh. Hassaleh is an orange K-type bright giant approximately 512 light years distant. It has an apparent magnitude of 2.69. Almaaz – ε Aurigae (Epsilon Aurigae) Almaaz, Epsilon Aurigae, is another eclipsing binary star, composed of an F0 class supergiant, with a diameter 135 times that of the Sun, and an unusual companion, believed to be a large dark disk orbiting a binary star. More recent studies and observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope actually suggest that the main star is a post-asymptotic giant branch star, while the companion is a single B-class star inside a disk. The apparent magnitude of the system drops from 2.92 to 3.93 for about 66 days every 27 years.

Epsilon Aurigae is approximately 2,000 light years distant. The name Almaaz means “(billy) goat” in Arabic. Haedus II – η Aurigae (Eta Aurigae) Eta Aurigae is a blue-white B-type main sequence dwarf located about 219 light years away. It has an apparent magnitude of 3.18. In the constellation, the star represents one of the ‘kids’ of the goat ( Capella ) held by the Charioteer. Its traditional name is Haedus II (or Hoedus II) and it comes from the Latin word haedus, which means ‘kid.’ It is occasionally called Mahasim (“wrist”), a name it shares with Theta Aurigae. Sadatoni (Haedus) – ζ Aurigae (Zeta Aurigae) Zeta Aurigae is the other Haedus, or ‘kid’ held by the Charioteer. The star is also commonly called Sadatoni.

The name comes from the Arabic phrase for “the second arm (of the Charioteer).” Sadatoni is an eclipsing binary star 790 light years distant. It consists of a red supergiant and a B8 type companion. The system’s magnitude varies between 3.61 and 3.99 with a period of 972 days. Prijipati – δ Aurigae (Delta Aurigae) Prijipati, Delta Aurigae, is a binary star about 140 light years from Earth. It consists of an orange K-type giant and a companion star 115.4 arcseconds away. The primary star has an apparent magnitude of 3.72 and the companion, 9.7. In Indian astronomy, the star is called Prajapati, which means “the Lord of Creation” in Sanskrit. AE Aurigae The Flaming Star Nebula, photo: Hewholooks AE Aurigae is a runaway star (one moving through space at an extremely high velocity when compared to the neighboring stars), approximately 1,460 light years distant.

It is a blue O-type main sequence dwarf and an Orion type variable (a star with eruptive, irregular variations in luminosity, usually associated with a nebula). Its luminosity varies between 5.78 and 6.08. Along with Mu Columbae and 53 Arietis, AE Aurigae is suspected to have been ejected when two binary star groups collided. The collision presumably occurred in the Trapezium Cluster , located in the Orion Nebula ( Messier 42 ), about two million years ago. AE Aurigae lights the Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405, Caldwell 31, SH 2-229), an emission/reflection nebula with a magnitude of 6.0. The Flaming Star Nebula is located near Iota Aurigae. Other notable stars: Al Hurr or λ Aurigae (Lambda Aurigae) is a double star, approximately 41.2 light years distant. It consists of a G-type subgiant and a companion star with a magnitude of 13.4, that lies 29 arcseconds away.

The system also has two optical companions 42 and 146 arcseconds away from the primary star. The star’s name comes from the Arabic word for “the fawn.” Messier 36 (NGC 1960), Atlas Image mosaic courtesy of 2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF. γ Aurigae (Gamma Aurigae) is now known as Beta Tauri and belongs to the constellation Taurus . The star’s traditional name is El Nath or Elnath. It is the nearest bright star to the galactic anti-centre. DEEP SKY OBJECTS IN AURIGA Messier 36 (M36, NGC 1960) Messier 36 is a bright open cluster located in the southern region of Auriga. It was first discovered by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Batista Hodierna in the 17th century, then rediscovered by Le Gentil about a century later, and finally included by Charles Messier in his catalogue in 1764. M36 contains at least 60 stars and has an apparent magnitude of 6.3.

The brightest members of the cluster are B2 type stars with an apparent magnitude of 9. M36 is approximately 4,100 light years distant and about 14 light years in diameter. It resembles Messier 45 ( the Pleiades ) in Taurus , but is too distant to appear as conspicuous in the night sky. The estimated age of M36 is 25 million years. The cluster does not contain any evolved red giant stars. Messier 37 (NGC 2099), Atlas Image mosaic courtesy of 2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF. Messier 37 (M37, NGC 2099) Messier 37 is another bright open star cluster in Auriga. It was discovered along with M36 and M38 by Giovanni Hodierna. The cluster is between 3,600 and 4,700 light years from Earth and contains some 500 stars, about 150 of which are brighter than magnitude 12.5. M37 contains about a dozen red giants and its estimated age is 300 million years.

The hottest main sequence star in the cluster is of spectral type B9V. The cluster has an apparent magnitude of 5.6 and is 24 light years in diameter. It is the brightest of the three clusters discovered by Hodierna. Messier 38 (M38, NGC 1912) Messier 38 lies only 2.5 degrees northwest of M36. It is an open cluster, approximately 4,200 light years distant. Like M36 and M37, it was originally discovered by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Batista Hodierna in the 17th century and then independently discovered again by the French astronomer Le Gentil in 1749. Charles Messier later included the cluster, along with M36 and M37, in his catalogue in 1764. Messier 38 (NGC 1912), Atlas Image mosaic courtesy of 2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF. The brightest stars in M38 form an oblique cross, or the letter Pi.

The brightest member is a G0 class yellow giant with an apparent magnitude of 7.9, which at that distance translates into a luminosity 900 times that of the Sun. The cluster is about 25 light years (20′) in diameter. Its estimated age is 220 million years. The Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405) The Flaming Star Nebula, also known by the designations IC 405, SH 2-229, and Caldwell 31, can be seen near the open cluster M38, the star Iota Aurigae, or the emission nebula IC 410. IC 405 and IC 410, photo: Oliver Stein The Flaming Star Nebula is an emission/reflection nebula that surrounds the star AE Aurigae. It lies 1,500 light years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 6.0. IC 410 IC 410 is an emission nebula, one that slightly resembles the Rosette Nebula in the constellation Monoceros . The nebula surrounds the open cluster NGC 1893.

It is approximately 2,200 light years distant and has an apparent visual magnitude of 13. Astronomy Close-up on constellation Auriga the Charioteer | Constellations | EarthSky Star clusters in Auriga Auriga carrying the goat and kids depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825. Via Wikipedia The bright star Capella. Auriga’s brightest star is called Capella . It’s a golden star, somewhat similar to our sun. In fact, if you could get some distance away from our solar system – light-years away – you might see our sun much as we see Capella. Capella is located at one corner of the constellation Auriga. Capella marks the Charioteer’s left shoulder. An asterism called The Kids. If you’re unsure whether you’ve identified Capella, you can always look nearby for a small triangle of stars. Capella is sometimes called the Goat Star, and this little triangle is known as The Kids. Other stars in Auriga. Menkalinan, the second-brightest star in Auriga, marks the Charioteer’s right shoulder.

Also, notice the star Elnath at the southern tip of Auriga. This star used to belong both to Auriga, where it was known as the heel of the Charioteer, and to the constellation Taurus, where it represented the tip of the Bull’s northern horn. In the last century, though, the International Astronomical Union decreed that this star shall belong only to Taurus! Star clusters in Auriga. In a dark sky, using binoculars, you can spot some easy-to-see star clusters within Auriga: M36, M37 and M38. This constellation and its brightest star Capella – and all that Auriga has to offer – are easy to identify in the northeast by mid to late evening. If you don’t see them, try looking a bit later at night – especially if you live in the southern U.S. Auriga, via the International Astronomical Union Bottom line: From the Northern Hemisphere latitudes, look for the beautiful star Capella and its constellation Auriga the Charioteer. Auriga | Define Auriga at Dictionary.com Auriga [aw-rahy-jee] /ɔˈraɪ dʒi/ (Show IPA).

Astronomy. 1. the Charioteer, a northern constellation between Perseus and Gemini, containing the bright star Capella. Origin of Auriga 1400-50; late Middle English < Latin: charioteer Dictionary.com Unabridged Examples from the Web for Auriga Expand Historical Examples The bright star Capella, in the constellation Auriga, had a statue of brass gilt in the city of the Phliassians. Astronomical Curiosities J. Ellard Gore In traversing the constellation Auriga on its début in these latitudes, it outshone Capella. Jubilation, U.S.A. G. L. Vandenburg Fomalhaut and Capella, in Auriga, rise almost exactly at the same minute. British Dictionary definitions for Auriga Expand noun (Latin genitive) Aurigae (ɔːˈraɪdʒiː) 1. a conspicuous constellation in the N hemisphere between the Great Bear and Orion, at the edge of the Milky Way.

It contains the first magnitude star Capella and the supergiant eclipsing binary star Epsilon Aurigae Word Origin Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for Auriga Expand northern constellation, from Latin auriga "a charioteer, driver," from aureae "bridle of a horse" (from os, genitive oris, "mouth;" see oral ) + agere "set in motion, drive, lead" (see act (n.)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper How to See Capella: A Star to Get Your Goat How to See Capella: A Star to Get Your Goat By Joe Rao, SPACE.com Skywatching Columnist | September 26, 2011 03:01pm ET MORE This sky map shows the location of Capella, a bright star also known as the "Goat Star," in the constellation Auriga, the Charioteer, as it appears in the northeastern sky at 1 a.m. local time at mid-northern latitudes. Credit: Starry Night Software An object that has been attracting the attention of those who normally give the night sky only a casual glance is the planet Jupiter, which makes its first appearance low above the eastern horizon shortly after 9 p.m. these evenings. But I have also been getting inquiries of late about another unusually bright, starlike object, this one low in the north-northeast sky soon after it gets fully dark. It isn't so much that it is bright — it's just that it looks out of place since usually you don’t see such a bright star located so far to the north.

The object also sometimes seems to twinkle with a yellowish-orange when it stands just above the horizon. In a couple of cases, I’ve been asked if the mysterious object is Mars . And back in the mid-1970s, when I was camping in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York, some of my fellow campers swore that they were looking at some sort of UFO! [ 7 Things That Create Convincing UFO Sightings ] The sixth-brightest star in the sky What those folks were looking at, in fact, is not a planet, but a brilliant star with a distinct yellowish hue. In fact, it's the sixth-brightest star in the sky (magnitude 0.08). As seen from mid,northern latitudes, it ranks number four behind Sirius, Arcturus and Vega. The star in question is Capella, in the constellation of Auriga, the Charioteer . Auriga is one of those star patterns whose exact origin is a hopeless mix of antique conceptions. We might call him the "Ben Hur of the sky." The Greek and Roman legends made Auriga a famed trainer of horses and the inventor of the four-horse chariot.

But the most ancient legends also had Auriga as a goatherd and a patron of shepherds. The brilliant golden-yellow Capella was known as the "Goat Star," with a nearby triangle of fainter stars representing her kids. The confusion in concepts is reflected in the ancient allegorical pictures and star names. Auriga is usually represented holding a whip in one hand in deference to the Charioteer story, but in his other arm he is holding a she-goat (Capella) and her three kids. [ Top 10 Star Mysteries ] In his classic guidebook, "The Stars, A New Way to See Them" (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston), Hans A. Rey (1898-1977) drew Auriga looking like a man with a tough expression with a jutting chin and a pug nose, " . . . as befits the driver of a war cart." Bigger and brighter than the sun Capella measures 16 times as large across as our sun, 174 times as luminous, and is located 42 light-years away.

And it is, in reality, part of a multiple star system with at least four components. As I noted earlier, Capella appears to rise well to the north of due east. In fact, it is the nearest to the sky's North Pole of all the first-magnitude stars, and across much of the 48 contiguous United States it is visible at some hour of the night throughout the year. From New York City, for example, Capella is below the horizon for only about 3 hours out of a 24-hour day. Lying 46 degrees north of the celestial equator, Capella can pass directly overhead for anyone living at that latitude north of the terrestrial equator (say, Houlton, Maine or Geneva, Switzerland). And for anyone living at points north of latitude 44 degrees (for example, Minneapolis, Minn. or Bologna, Italy), Capella will appear to graze the northern horizon, but will not go below it. In the table below, we have prepared the rise times for Capella for three dates this week (September 16, 19 and 22) as seen from 10 different latitudes, each separated by 2-degree increments.

Also provided for each latitude is the azimuth, the direction on the horizon where Capella will first appear. As already noted, from latitude 44 degrees and all points north, Capella is always above the horizon. This table shows rise times and locations for Capella in September 2011. Credit: Joe Rao All times are given in civil or local daylight time (LDT), which differs from ordinary clock time by many minutes at most locations. Most civil time zones worldwide have been standardized on particular longitudes at increments of 15 degrees. As an example, across Europe, 0 degrees (the Greenwich Meridian); 15 degrees east; 30 degrees east, etc. Across North America, there is 60 degrees west (Atlantic Time), 75 degrees west (Eastern Time), 90 degrees west (Central Time), etc. If your longitude is very close to one of the standard meridians, luck is with you and your correction is zero. To get local standard time, add four minutes to the times listed for each degree of longitude that you are west of your time zone meridian. Or subtract four minutes for each degree you are east of it.

Your clenched fist, held at arm’s length will measure roughly 10 degrees. So 20 degrees would measure roughly "two fists" when making an estimate of azimuth. Example: From Columbus, Ohio, on September 22, when and where will Capella appear to rise? Columbus is located at latitude 40 degrees north and longitude 83 degrees west. Looking at the column under September 22, we see a rise time of 8:03 p.m. for latitude 40 degrees north. But since Columbus is located 8 degrees west of the standard meridian, we must add 32 minutes to 8:03 p.m. So Capella will actually rise at 8:35 p.m. And from the latitude of Columbus, Capella will appear to rise 19 degrees east of due north, or about "two fists" to the east (right) of due north. For other dates and latitudes, you can interpolate. Interestingly, the brilliant blue-white star Vega is only a trifle brighter and lies almost diametrically opposite in the sky from Capella.

At about 39 degrees from the celestial equator, Vega affords a similar rising reference for northern sky watchers in the early spring sky. Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, N.Y. February Constellations - The Constellations on Sea and Sky << January Constellations | Main Menu | March Constellarions >> February Constellations The eight February constellations include a few well-known groups such as Gemini, the Twins, and Canis Major, the Great Dog. Located in these constellations are seven Messier objects. All of these are open star clusters except for M79, which is a beautiful globular cluster located in the constellation of Lepus, the rabbit. The constellation Auriga contains the most, with three open clusters worthy of some serious observation. Gemini is home to two famous bright stars known as Castor and Pollux. The February sky also reveals Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. At magnitude -1.46, this bright star dominates the winter night. Click on any constellation below for more information.

2010_livery Contact Auriga, the Charioteer Auriga is a really great constellation, though not nearly so well known as its neighbours like Orion or Gemini. But it has a lot going for it. The name is simply the Latin for 'Charioteer', but there's no agreement which Greek myth is actually represented. Perhaps he just came in handy whenever anyone wanted to get somewhere when telling tales using the stars – just like you might write a taxidriver into the script if you were writing something today. But there are tales about charioteers, and you can read about them on Ian Ridpath's Star Tales site . Auriga is usually seen in the sky as a pentagon of stars, with Capella at the top. But the bottom star of the pentagon, El Nath, is actually in Taurus and is merely borrowed to make the pattern. But the really odd thing about Auriga is that he is always lumbered with a goat around his shoulders. You can imagine him picking up a fare and having to say 'Don't mind the goat'. To make things worse, this goat has had kids which he is also saddled with.

These are known as the Haedi, and they are visible up there in the sky, next to the main star, Capella. You can see the Haedi next to Auriga, and many people regard all three stars as the kids. In fact there were only two kids, the lower pair, but the upper one, Epsilon, makes such a distinctive group with them that it's often regarded as an honorary kid. For hints on understanding the star map, please click here Things to look for in Auriga Capella is a bright yellow star 42 light years away, which makes it quite close, as stars go. It's actually the sixth brightest star in the sky, and in the northern hemisphere it's the winter overhead bright star, while Vega is the summer overhead bright star. Next to Capella is the extra Haedi star, Epsilon Aurigae. It is an interesting star in its own right, and you can read more about its mysterious eclipses here. Auriga contains three really nice little star clusters, M36, M37 and M38. You can see them in the picture at right as three fuzzy patches.

If you're wondering why they seem to be named after motorways, the M actually stands for Messier (that's pronounced 'Messi-ay', as in French, by the way). Charles Messier was the one who originally numbered them. But he didn't work from left to right, because M36 is the one in the middle. You can see these clusters with binoculars if your skies are fairly dark, though not from the middle of a town. If you are having trouble seeing them as actual clusters, try to hold the binoculars really still, and you should see the individual stars. A telescope shows the stars easily. You should be able to see slight differences between them. M36 is bright but small, M37 has more stars and M38 is largest. They aren't the brightest clusters around, but you get three for the price of one, That's even better than buy one, get one free. Text by Robin Scagell Capella is 2 golden stars | Brightest Stars | EarthSky Double star system Capella. Image via Atlas of the Universe Science of star Capella. Like so many stars that appear single to the eye, Capella actually consists of two stars.

Capella A and Capella B, as they’re called, are similar to each other, both roughly 10 times the sun’s diameter. They emit about 80 and 50 times more overall light than the sun, respectively. Another component to this system, a binary of small red stars, orbits about a light-year away. Capella A and B are both yellow giant stars at the end of their normal lifetimes. Each being more than two and a half times more massive than the sun, the two components of Capella likely are also younger. This is because more massive stars have higher internal pressures, which causes them to burn their nuclear fuel faster and to have shorter lifespans. The stars of Capella are in a transitional period from the smaller, hotter stars they once were, to the cooler and larger red giants they must ultimately become in their final phase. However, for now, their surface temperatures are similar to that of the sun, and so they share its spectral type of G. The two stars we see as Capella mark the 6th brightest star in our sky. Astronomers measure the combined magnitude of this system as 0.08.

Capella’s constellation Auriga, via EarthSky Facebook friend Dennis Chabot. Look for Capella in the Northern Hemisphere winter. How to find Capella in the night sky. From mid-latitudes of the U.S. and Europe, Capella is far enough to the north to be seen at some time of the night all year round. For us in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s best in winter, when you’ll find golden Capella high overhead before bedtime. Capella is the brightest star in a five-sided star pattern, which we know as the constellation Auriga the Charioteer. Capella is the Latin word for ‘nanny goat,’ and this lovely star is often called the Goat Star. Here is the key to knowing you’ve found Capella. Near it, you’ll find a tiny asterism – a noticeable pattern on the sky’s dome – consisting of three fainter stars. This little triangle of stars is approriately called the Kids, and it makes Capella instantly recognizable. The star El Nath originally was part of the constellation Auriga, too. Now El Nath marks the tip of one of horns of the constellation Taurus the Bull.

Still, including El Nath, you can see a large misshapen pentagon of stars in Capella’s part of the sky. The shape is difficult to reconcile with the idea of a man driving a chariot, but it is a noticeable pattern and easy to find. Some people use the Big Dipper to locate Capella. The two bowl stars – Megrez and Dubhe – more or less point toward Capella. It’s a long hop, though, in the direction opposite of the Big Dipper handle. Constellation Auriga as depicted in a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825. Image via Wikimedia Commons Capella in history and mythology. For such a large constellation with such a bright star, the mythology of Auriga and Capella is sparse. The constellation has been associated with the Greek sea god Posideon (the Roman god Neptune). Other stories say Auriga represents Erichthonius, the ancient lame king of Athens who invented the horse-drawn chariot. Auriga seems to have been associated with shepherds and flocks, so the title of nanny goat — or ‘she goat’ — for Capella is reasonable.

However, neither Capella nor its constellation Auriga figures prominently in any major mythological stories from Greek or Roman culture. Richard Hinkley Allen, in his famed Star Names, says that the ancient Arabs called the star Capella by a name that meant ‘The Driver’ and implies that this star was seen as a shepherd driving a flock across the sky. The flock might have been the nearby star cluster Pleiades, although – instead of sheep or goats – early Arabian stargazers saw this pattern composed of camels. Capella was also apparently important in ancient Egypt. It appears on the Denderah Zodiac as a mummified cat. Interestingly, in China, Capella and four other stars of Auriga were known as the Five Chariots. The other four stars are Beta, Theta, Kappa and Gamma (El Nath, which is now Beta Tauri). Bottom line: We see Capella as the brightest star in the constellation Auriga the Charioteer. How to find Capella, a word about the science of this star, and its role in history and mythology.

Capella’s position is RA: 5h 16m 41.4s, Dec: +45° 59′ 53″. Star Tales – Auriga Origin: One of the 48 Greek constellations listed by Ptolemy in the Almagest Greek name: Ἡνίοχος (Heniochos) High in the northern sky stands a forlorn-looking charioteer. With his right hand he grasps the reins of a chariot, while on his left arm he carries a goat and its two kids. Of his chariot itself there is no sign. What’s the story here? Mythology offers several identifications for this prominent constellation, although the presence of the goat is not accounted for by any of them. Auriga carrying the goat and kids, seen on Chart V of the Uranographia of Johann Bode (1801).The bright star Capella lies in the body of the goat. The most popular interpretation is that he is Erichthonius, a legendary king of Athens. Erichthonius was the son of Hephaestus the god of fire, better known by his Roman name of Vulcan.

Hephaestus was too busy smithying to be bothered with his son, who was instead raised by the goddess Athene, after whom the city of Athens is named. When he grew up, Erichthonius instituted a festival called the Panathenaea in her honour. Athene taught Erichthonius many skills, including how to tame horses. He became the first person to harness four horses to a chariot, in imitation of the four-horse chariot of the Sun (the quadriga), a bold move which earned him the admiration of Zeus and assured him a place among the stars. There, according to this story, Erichthonius is depicted at the reins, perhaps participating in the Panathenaic games in which he frequently drove his chariot to victory. Another identification is that Auriga is really Myrtilus, the charioteer of King Oenomaus of Pisa and son of Hermes. The king had a beautiful daughter, Hippodamia, whom he was determined not to let go. He challenged each of her suitors to a death-or-glory chariot race.

They were to speed away with Hippodamia on their chariots, but if Oenomaus caught up with them before they reached Corinth he would kill them. Since he had the swiftest chariot in Greece, skilfully driven by Myrtilus, no man had yet survived the test. A dozen suitors had been beheaded by the time that Pelops, the handsome son of Tantalus, came to claim Hippodamia’s hand. Hippodamia, falling in love with him on sight, begged Myrtilus to betray the king so that Pelops might win the race. Myrtilus, who was himself secretly in love with Hippodamia, tampered with the pins holding the wheels on Oenomaus’s chariot. During the pursuit of Pelops, the wheels of the king’s chariot fell off and Oenomaus was thrown to his death. Hippodamia was now left in the company of both Pelops and Myrtilus. Pelops solved the awkward situation by unceremoniously casting Myrtilus into the sea, from where he cursed the house of Pelops as he drowned.

Hermes put the image of his son Myrtilus into the sky as the constellation Auriga. Germanicus Caesar supports this identification because, he says, ‘you will observe that he has no chariot, and, his reins broken, is sorrowful, grieving that Hippodamia has been taken away by the treachery of Pelops’. A third identification of Auriga is Hippolytus, son of Theseus, whose stepmother Phaedra fell in love with him. When Hippolytus rejected her, she hanged herself in despair. Theseus banished Hippolytus from Athens. As he drove away his chariot was wrecked, killing him. Asclepius the healer brought the blameless Hippolytus back to life again, a deed for which Zeus struck Asclepius down with a thunderbolt at the demand of Hades, who was annoyed at losing a valuable soul. Aratus did not identify the constellation with any character. He simply called it Ἡνίοχος, the charioteer, as did Ptolemy in the Almagest.

From this name comes the Latin transliteration Heniochus, used for the constellation by some Roman writers such as Manilius. The she-goat and kids Auriga contains the sixth-brightest star in the sky, known as Capella, a Roman name meaning ‘she-goat’; the Greeks called it Aix (Αἲξ), meaning the same. Ptolemy in the Almagest described this star as being on the charioteer’s left shoulder. According to Aratus it represented the goat Amaltheia, who suckled the infant Zeus on the island of Crete and was placed in the sky as a mark of gratitude, along with the two kids she bore at the same time. The kids, frequently known by their Latin name of Haedi (Greek: Ἔριφοι, i.e. Eriphoi), are represented by the neighbouring stars Eta and Zeta Aurigae; Ptolemy described them as lying on the charioteer’s left wrist. Hyginus credits the Greek astronomer Cleostratus with having first called these two stars the Kids in the 5th century BC.

It is sometimes said that the variable star Epsilon Aurigae to the north of them is a third member of the kids, but this is incorrect – Ptolemy and the mythologists were clear that there were only two kids. According to Ptolemy, Epsilon Aurigae actually marks the charioteer’s left elbow. An alternative story is that Amaltheia was not the goat itself but the nymph who owned the goat. Eratosthenes says that the goat was so ugly that it terrified the Titans who ruled the Earth at that time. When Zeus grew up he challenged the Titans for supremacy. Following the advice of an oracle he skinned the goat and made a cloak from its impenetrable hide, the back of which resembled the head of a Gorgon. This horrible-looking goatskin formed the so-called aegis of Zeus (the word aegis actually means ‘goatskin’). The aegis protected Zeus and scared his enemies, a particular advantage in his fight against the Titans. Afterwards Zeus covered the bones of the goat in a normal-looking skin and transformed it into the star Capella.

Some early writers spoke of the Goat and Kids as a separate constellation, but since the time of Ptolemy they have been awkwardly combined with the Charioteer, the goat resting on the charioteer’s shoulder, with the kids supported on his forearm. There is no legend to explain why the charioteer is so encumbered with livestock. Beta Aurigae, incidentally, is popularly known as Menkalinan, a name that comes from the Arabic meaning ‘shoulder of the charioteer’, since it was described by Ptolemy as lying on the charioteer’s right shoulder. A ‘shared’ star Greek astronomers regarded one star as being shared by Auriga and Taurus. On old star maps this star is shown as representing both the right foot of the charioteer and also the tip of the bull’s left horn. When the German astronomer Johann Bayer came to allocate Greek letters to the stars in the early 17th century he designated this star as both Gamma Aurigae and Beta Tauri.

However, since the introduction of precise constellation boundaries in 1930, astronomers have assigned this star exclusively to Taurus as Beta Tauri and there is no longer a Gamma Aurigae. Hence, under the modern scheme, the bull has kept the tip of his horn but the luckless charioteer has lost his right foot. Chinese associations In the Chinese constellation system, the four main stars of Auriga – Alpha (Capella), Beta, Theta, and Iota Aurigae – plus the present-day Beta Tauri formed Wuche or Wuju, meaning five chariots, one for each of the five celestial emperors. These stars were also said to govern the harvest of the five main types of cereal grown in China at that time. The prominent triangle near Capella formed by the stars Epsilon, Zeta, and Eta Aurigae was one of three such triangles in and around Auriga that the Chinese termed Zhu or Sanzhu, poles for tethering the horses. The second triangle was formed by Tau, Nu, and Upsilon Aurigae, and the third by Chi, 26, and one other star, identity uncertain.

Two other groups of stars within Wuche were known as Tianhuang and Xianchi, both representing ponds, although sources differ as to exactly which stars were involved in each group. Xianchi was said to be where the Sun bathed at the end of each day. Tianhuang has also been interpreted as a bridge or pier. Nine stars scattered across eastern Auriga, between the Milky Way and the border with Lynx, formed Zuoqi, representing flags marking seats set out for the Emperor and his dignitaries, presumably for official functions. In the far north of Auriga, Delta, and Xi formed part of Bagu, representing eight kinds of crops, most of which was over the border in Camelopardalis . © Ian Ridpath. All rights reserved

Question: Containing the bright star Capella, which constellation is known as “The Charioteer”?
Answer: Auriga